I think it would of been a beautiful bird, but Boeing realized in the 80s that it was to early to think of such a plane. I think Boeing wil soon realize that the time has come and start selling the 747X and -Stretch seriously.

Yes it is larger. I'd say more like 20 yrs time before we see another NLA after the A380 and B747X Stretch. The A380 is actually like a 747 with a long upper deck, it isn't as big as you think, it is smaller than the C5, and a little larger than a 744 in dimensions, only it has the long upperdeck.

Correct! The A 380 is not that hig. It is just slightly bigger than the B 747-400, with its stretched upper deck. The AN 225 is WAY bigger.

The new NLA (Probably called the B 747-700) will be a successor of the B 747X Stretch. Probably UAL, BA etc WILL order the NLA when Boeing launches it in 20 years time.

The future of the B 747 is unlimited!!!! Boeing has great plans in hand for the B 747. Let us now see how successful the B 747-400 LR will be (Sorry to burst the bubbles of those who think that the B 777 is everything).

I don't think the 747-700 will ever be launched. I do think that Boeing will come out with a large and different plane, but it will probably have it's own name. The NLA war of 2001-2020 has only begun with the A380 and larger 747s, so let's not even start guessing what happens beyond that United Airline.

First, let me say that the Boeing 747 is my favourite aircraft of all time. That having been said, I do not think that we will see anything significantly bigger from Boeing....there will not be any justification for it. Airbus will satisfy the narrow market that aircraft of that size can generate.

The biggest market for the 747 from now forward will be as a "cheap" super freighter. I say cheap because it will be able to sell for much less than the A380 freighter.

Another market will appear when the 747 starts to become a prestige-enhancing flagship for third world airlines. This happened to the 707 when the 747 appeared. The first signs of this have already begun to show. Just this week Air Gabon ordered a 747-400 for its flights to Europe and major African capitals. Air Namibia also ordered and received one last year for service to Europe.

Boeing realizes that the time has come to move on from the 747 and into the world of near-supersonic and supersonic aircraft. Unlike large cruise ships, most people do not like sitting aboard large planes for long durations. The world wants SPEED not size. I bet that they will concentrate on getting a very fast plane with the capacity of the 777 into the air by 2020 (the supersonic "issues" should be resolved by then). They have already made a move in that direction by focusing their efforts on the new Sonic Cruiser. The issue with that one is that it will only fly at Mach 0.98.

As Boeing gets closer to producing a large superfast transport, Airbus will realize the mistake that they have made by investing in the A380.

Existing B 744 customers DO NEED the capacity of B 744s and many of them DO NOT need the A 380. So, there are still plenty of rooms for the B 747-400LR.

The reason why we aren't getting that many B 744 orders is because......... the B 744s owned by existing customers are way too new to be replaced. Do expect large orders of the B 744LR when existing B 744s need to be replaced.

Boeing is going ahead with a longer range version of the 747-400 called the 500. The dimentions of this aircraft are the same as the 400 except for the winglets, that will be of different design. The take off weight will be increased and consequently the range. For the 600 or stretched version there was no interest from the airlines. So Boeing pulled their engineers from that project to focus on the "Sonic Cruiser" that has received a lot of interest from the airlines.

The A380 is really not as big as you think. It is a few ft longer than a 747, and has the upper deck all the way. The C5-A is bigger than the A380, regardless of MTOW. THe A380 will fit into airports nicely with 747s, because it will be sort of like seeing a 747 with a long upper deck when you're there. The An-225 is MUCH bigger than the A380.

Well, the A380 is very fat if you want to compare it to a 747! The u/d of a 747 can only have a 3-3 configuration of economy but the u/d of the A380 can have a 340 configuration of 2-4-2!! So the 380 is NOT like a 747 with a stretched u/d. I think that the difference will be obvious.

In reality, the A380 has a significantly wider wingspan and weighs much more than the 747-400. Almost all of the existing airports that hope to service the airplane will require infrastructure upgrades to accomodate it. Gate areas must be widened, taxiways (and possibly runways) must be widened and strengthened, jetways will need to be modified (and possibly replaced) and the ramp areas must be strengthened to prevent the planes from SINKING while on the stand.

These requirements are already being discussed/addressed at airports like LHR, JFK, SIN and SYD but there are much more that will need to get moving soon.

Boeing also had a proposal for a "super widebody". This particular aircraft had an economy seating arrangement of 12-14 abreast seating on one deck. A 3-4-4-3 arrangement I think. This did grab the attention of some airlines because the evacuation worries were not as great as for the double deck arrangement. I remember reading about it in AW&ST, but I don't remember when it was.

As far as the 747-700, it won't happen. To much emphasis on the sonic criuser and updating the 744.

25 United Airline
: Boeing_nut: You mean the BWB? That is a double decker as well. However, safety issues is another problem that Boeing has to solve. For the B 747-700,

26 Boeing nut
: No, not the BWB. It was a standard configuration aircraft. I'll try to find the article.